In a shocking development, Activision is hoping that the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will sell well. Or, to be more precise, that it will be the best-selling videogame of all time.

Are we still calling it Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? Is it just Modern Warfare 2, now? Maybe Activision will end up taking a page from the Square-Enix playbook and call it Call of Duty 4-2.

Whatever it is, it's the sequel to one of this generation's most popular and critically acclaimed games, and it will be hitting shelves during the 2009 holiday season. Naturally, publisher Activision is hoping that the game will sell well - a ludicrous concept, I know. Given CoD4's popularity, it's certainly not an unreasonable idea.

Apparently Activision is hoping that MW2 will sell really, really well. "We want to propel this year's title to be the biggest selling video game of all time," brand manager Simon Wells told MCV UK. "That may raise some eyebrows, but step back and look at the franchise's trajectory through preceding launches, and this objective starts to look viable."

Even if Modern Warfare 2 doesn't post Wii Fit-esque numbers or top all-time sales charts, Wells is confident that the game can still be the best-selling entertainment property of the year, including other media like films and television: "The reality for a franchise as large as Call of Duty is that we are competing directly with entertainment propositions outside of the video game space."

Not if they're dropping the Call of Duty title it won't be. Traitors. It had better say Call of Duty on that box or I'll be buying that game with slightly less enthusiasm. And no one wants to see that happen.

Highest selling game of all time? Maybe. Sounds a bit egotistical.Whatever happens, I'm still getting it.

ElephantGuts:Not if they're dropping the Call of Duty title it won't be. Traitors. It had better say Call of Duty on that box or I'll be buying that game with slightly less enthusiasm. And no one wants to see that happen.

Does it really matter? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a bit tedious. I actually like the new change, it helps me forget that just about everything is part of a franchise. Everyone will still be calling it CoD6, though.I don't think dropping the CoD title will make a significant difference.

Patrick_and_the_ricks:I don't get it, all the call of duty games play the same... Their not bad games just average. For me I really like BF: bad company and Rainbow six vegas 2.

probably because the majority of the people who bought cod4 had never played a shooter other than halo in their lives.

Excludos:Doesn't this just suggest confidence in how good their own game is? Makes me look forward to it even more :)

no, its a marketing statement, like when they said cod4 would have the best graphics and be the best shooter of 07 (both dead wrong), or the same things about cod5.

cod4 sold 12 million copies, now i dont doubt that mw2 will be one of, if not the best selling game of 09, but considering gta:sa sold over 21 million and about a dozen games (many by nintendo) have sold in the 18-20 million area it seems like a far cry to say that mw2 will sell 22+ million copies.

I loved Modern Warfare and think a lot of the narrative done is some of the best we've seen in the industry (the opening credits, the nuke, the ending and mile high club were all fantastic).

I'm not sure if Modern Warfare 2 will keep up, but I like Infinity Ward and at least trust we'll see a better product.

However, I doubt this will be "best selling". I already have a number of friends that refuse to play another Call of Duty unless they remove the infinitely respawning enemies that force you to progress (I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I like being forced to push forward instead of being allowed to hide in a hole until all the enemies are dead. On the other, it makes Veteran a bitch).

Well, it's a bold prediction to be sure. I think it could be the best selling game of the fall season. But no shooter will be the best selling game of all time because the FPS genre is constantly being updated. Before Modern Warfare 2 can gain the momentum needed to be an all time best seller, Modern Warfare 3 will be out.

I see it selling along the same lines as Halo 3, but all time? That may take more than a few months or years to accomplish (look at mario bros 1), and not everyone loves FPS games. So it will sell well I am sure, but not to that extent.

An FPS beating Super Mario Bros. as best selling game? Don't make me laugh Activision. Now I have to conside boycotting so I can help shove those words back down the throat it came from.

CantFaketheFunk:Wells is confident that the game can still be the best-selling entertainment property of the year, including other media like films and television: "The reality for a franchise as large as Call of Duty is that we are competing directly with entertainment propositions outside of the video game space."

So Wells wants too sell out? How many Street Fighter films and Blue Dragon animes do we need to show video games are bad outside of video games?